Chapter 29: Urgency

Shortly after Kendra, Bracken, Bright, Stargleam and Windshear had arrived back in the yard at Fablehaven, they quickly met up with the rest of the family, who all came scurrying from out of the house all together.

"We've got some good news," said Kendra, as she proceeded to pull the light crystal from out of her bag and held it up for everybody to see.

Stargleam let out a powerful neigh. "Greetings, everyone!"

Seth suddenly dropped his jaw. "The unicorn... Did she just speak?"

"So can I," said Windshear.

"That's... awesome!" exclaimed Ingrid. "I mean, we already went through something similar for Skyfrost and Firesquall, but this is just as cool!"

"Brillia, right?" said Dale. "She gave them this capability?"

Bright nodded. "Yup, our sister has granted Stargleam and Windshear with the ability to converse in English."

"Also, if anybody's still interested, she gave us this," said Kendra, waving the light crystal around in the air.

"What is that?" asked Grandpa. "It looks eerily familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on it."

"It's a light crystal," replied Bracken. "And it contains the power we need to defeat Murdred once and for all. Even if he's in the Demon Domain."

"Seriously?" asked Warren. "That crystal will do the job?"

"It's what we're hoping for," said Bright.

"Nice!" said Seth. "The good news just keeps on coming!"

"And because Malfunk was nice enough to show us how to bypass the barrier and sneak into the castle, there's nothing to stop us from heading back there and confronting Murdred," said Warren. "Only this time, we'll be the ones who are prepared."

"I'm up for this," said Ingrid. "Sounds like if we can get the drop on Murdred, we might actually be able to defeat him."

"We might want to hurry," said Clover. "Who knows what Murdred might manage to accomplish the longer we take in getting to him."

"Are you saying we should head out now?" asked Seth.

"The sooner, the better," said Grandpa.


Before long, the group had made all the necessary preparations for their next venture into the Demon Domain, and had soon met up with the dragons.

"Are all of you ready?" asked Grandpa.

The four riders, as well as their dragons, all nodded in response.

Our energy has been restored, too," said Bracken.

"Excellent," said Grandpa.

"Hold on," said Windshear, "are all of you really heading back into the Demon Domain?"

"How horrific," said Stargleam, "I'll never go back there!"

"Believe me," said Geminus, "none of us wants to go there. But we do have a way out."

"You know," said Firesquall, "if it hadn't been for our return visits, we never would have found you in that dungeon."

"Why don't you two come with us?" asked Ingrid. "My first trip to the Demon Domain wasn't very pleasant, but that doesn't mean..."

"No!" exclaimed Grandpa, cutting off Ingrid. "I'm sorry, but I think that sending Stargleam and Windshear into the Demon Domain is just too much. Extra help or not, these two are among the last of their kind. And besides, they just got here after being imprisoned for so long."

"Yeah," said Stargleam. "The two of us just need settle down already. Please!"

"I understand," said Raxtus. "Ingrid, your intentions were good, but it's better if Stargleam and Windshear remain here at Fablehaven."

"Besides," said Warren, "we've got this whole ordeal under control. Hopefully."

"What's the plan, anyway?" asked Ingrid.

"When we arrive in the Demon Domain, once we get our bearings, we'll make a beeline to Murdred's castle. We slip in through the secret entrance, make our way up into the castle, and locate Murdred. Once we do that, Kendra can assault him with the light crystal, which will hopefully destroy him."

"Sounds good," said Kendra, who could feel her heartbeat accelerating.

"Let's do this," said Seth, as he climbed up onto Skyfrost's back. Likewise, his allies got up onto their dragons' backs as well.

"Here we go," said Bright, as she used her magic to conjure up a portal.

"Good luck!" shouted Grandma, as the group proceeded to enter the portal, passing through from the surrounding locale of Fablehaven and into a region of the Demon Domain.

The first thing that alerted Kendra and Seth was rainfall. Upon arriving in the Demon Domain, the group had been hit by a torrential downfall, which completely soaked them within seconds.

"Where are we?" asked Ingrid, as she wiped her wet bangs away from her face.

"You should know the drill by now," said Warren. "Somewhere in the Demon Domain."

"What's with all this rain?" asked Seth, trying to get an idea of his surroundings. They appeared to be in a large, rugged field with no distinguishable landmarks in any direction. The normally red sky that spanned the Demon Demon was instead filled with a solid layer of grey storm clouds.

"I guess the Demon Domain doesn't have much in the way of bodies of water," said Bracken. "Seems like most of its water is either hidden from sight, or floating around in a vaporous form."

Suddenly, the group was alerted by a lightning bolt shooting down from the sky in the distance, followed by a crash of thunder.

"Okay," said Clover. "No need to panic. It's just thunder and lightning. Donner and Blitzen are German for thunder and lightning, and they're such friendly reindeer, aren't they?"

"Nothing to worry about," said Skyfrost. "That was a joke compared to Revlogg."

Suddenly, another lightning bolt struck the ground off in another direction in the distance.

"Wow," said Raxtus. "Something tells me this place must get some nasty storms."

"Well, storm or no storm, we need to get to Murdred's castle," said Bright. "Wherever it is."

"Guess this is the part where you fairies do your hiding thing," said Ingrid.

"You got that right," said Clover. "But this time, we've got something for you."

Clover, Bright and Bracken all snapped their fingers. The next thing they knew, Kendra and Seth were both wearing yellow raincoats over their usual clothing, as were Warren and Ingrid.

"These should help against the rain," said Bracken, as lightning struck again in the distance.

"You got anything for protecting us from the lightning?" said Warren. "I know these coats are made of rubber, but perhaps something a bit more durable?"

"I'm afraid not," replied Bright.

"Good luck," said Clover, as she, Bracken and Bright all vanished.

"Guess we just have to get a move on," said Kendra, as she climbed up onto Raxtus' backside, which was tricky due to her raincoat, as well as the water that was dripping down his scales.

Once everybody was mounted atop their dragon, the four reptiles all extended their wings and took off, flying upwards against the rain that was pouring down. Before long, the dragons were flying considerably high above the ground, while raindrops and lightning bolts continued to fall down from the clouds.

"This is crazy," said Kendra. "Every few seconds there's lightning!"

"I just thought of a game," said Seth. "Whenever lightning strikes, we all shout KA-BOOM!"

"I've got a better game," said Kendra. "It's called Quit goofing off and look out for Murdred's castle."

"It's hard to concentrate," said Geminus. "With all of this rain and lightning, I can't get a proper feel for where Murdred's castle might be."

"Well, we'll just have to persevere," said Warren.

The dragons continued to fly through the storm for several minutes, which showed no sign of letting up. All of a sudden, Kendra began to feel feint. A moment later, Raxtus let out a loud roar.

"What was that?" asked Seth, as Raxtus began to dwindle downwards in a tailspin, with Kendra still on his back.

"Kendra!" shrieked Ingrid.

"Raxtus!" cried Geminus.

Raxtus grunted, but managed to regain his flight while in mid-fall.

"Raxtus," said Kendra, once the platinum dragon was flying forward again. "What happened? I felt so... weak."

"You felt that too?" asked Raxtus.

"Are you all right?" asked Seth, as the rest of the group flew down to Kendra and Raxtus' current level.

Suddenly, Kendra could see a large figure flying through the rain towards them.

"What is that?" asked Firesquall.

"Might've been whatever just struck Kendra and myself," said Raxtus.

"Look out!" shrieked Warren, as a blast of black energy shot out from the approaching figure.

Before any of them could get hit, the four dragons all evaded the incoming energy shot, and flew away from the approaching figure.

"What was that?" asked Ingrid, as the figure shot more dark energy towards the group.

"Let's go check this out," said Seth, encouraging Skyfrost to fly around closer to the figure.

Through all the rain, Seth saw that the figure appeared to be a large wildcat with bat-like wings. Sitting atop the back of the cat was some sort of humanoid figure with a completely black body that was hard to make out.

Before Seth could think, the figure held up her hand and attempted to shoot Seth with another energy blast. Fortunately, Skyfrost was fast enough to escape the incoming attack.

"What is that thing?" asked Skyfrost.

"I don't know about that cat thing. But the rider..." Seth then cupped his hands together, intending to amplify his voice as best he could. "Are you... Nemenemi?"

"I am!" hissed the humanoid figure. "And I'm going to destroy you!"

"Oh yeah?" asked Skyfrost, as he swerved away from another attack. "Deal with this!"

Skyfrost then unleashed his icy breath at Nemenemi, as well as the creature she was riding. However, the blast appeared to do nothing whatsoever to phase them.

"You think a little cold air can stop me?" asked Nemenemi, as she retaliated by attempting to shoot Seth and Skyfrost again.

Suddenly, a stream of fire went flying directly at Nemenemi and whatever it was that she had mounted herself upon.

"Yeah!" cried Seth. "Way to go, Firesquall!"

A moment later, the fire inexplicably bounced away from Nemenemi and continued in a stream, which nearly collided with Seth and Skyfrost.

"You are all fools!" snapped Nemenemi, as the fire stopped. "You cannot possibly defeat me!"

Without any warning, Nemenemi proceeded to blast more beams of darkness out in various directions, some of which came fairly close to hitting the dragons.

"Oh no!" gasped Ingrid, as Geminus continued to swerve around in the air. "We have to stop her!"

"But how?" asked Firesquall. "Even our elemental attacks aren't working, and I'm willing to bet weapons won't help much either."

"The Emerock wouldn't help, even if we were on the ground," said Warren. "And the Sapphazure has its limits."

"Raxtus," said Kendra. "Geminus. What about expelling your light energy upon Nemenemi?"

"Lot of good it would do," said Geminus. "It's hindered greatly in the Demon Domain."

"Well, we'd better do something!" exclaimed Seth, as Skyfrost narrowly dodged another beam of darkness.

"Kendra's got that light crystal, yes?" asked Skyfrost. "Try using that!"

"But we need its power to stop Murdred!" exclaimed Kendra. "If I waste its power on Nemenemi, we won't have enough left for Murdred!"

"If we don't do something about Nemenemi," said Warren, "we won't make it to Murdred!"

"Well, we can't fight her in this storm!" exclaimed Seth.

"Then let's land," said Raxtus, as he swooped downwards, prompting his comrades to follow along behind him.

"You can't escape me!" roared Nemenemi. Seth looked back and saw that she and her creature were both hot on the group's tail.

Before long, Raxtus came down upon the ground and made a landing, as did the other dragons.

"What are we stopping for?" asked Ingrid, as Nemenemi continued to approach the group.

"Bright!" exclaimed Kendra. "Open a portal. Please!"

Bright suddenly appeared next to Kendra, but by that point, Nemenemi's creature had landed just a few feet next to them. Bracken and Clover also appeared by Bright's side.

"I think it's too late for that," said Seth, worried that Nemenemi would follow them through the portal.

Now that they were standing still, Kendra and Seth took a good look at Nemenemi. Her appearance was only vaguely humanoid at best, like some sort of black minotaur. Her hair had been replaced by flowing horns, and her eyes were glowing red.

The creature that Nemenemi was riding seemed to resemble a monstrous lioness with bat-like wings. However, it clearly too big to be an actual lion.

"That thing," said Warren. "It's a manticore."

"You idiots are going to be sorry," said Nemenemi, as she held out her hands. "Now I'm free destroy you!"

"Hold on!" exclaimed Bright. She then snapped her fingers, causing a pole to appear in her hands. Flailing on the tip of the pole was a white flag.

"A white flag?" asked Nemenemi. "What is this all about?"

"I want a truce," said Bright. "You don't attack us. We don't attack you."

The manticore snarled at the group.

"Easy, girl," said Nemenemi, as she stroked the beast with a wretched-looking hand. "I wasn't even interested in you losers. I want my revenge on Murdred."

"That's funny," said Warren. "We're also after Murdred. He certainly seems to be a popular guy today."

"Don't try to humor me. Murdred offered me power, but did I get anything out of it? Nooooo. Just because I'm a girl! How can anybody be so sexist? It's sickening! I mean, what is that guy's problem? Is he insane?"

"Hold on," said Kendra, pretending that she didn't witness what she had seen earlier. "What exactly has happened between you and Murdred?"

"Okay," said Nemenemi. "Back at home, I get approached by this so-called negafae Helwic. She offers me power if I come with her to another world. So I think, sure, this has to be a joke. So I follow Helwic through this portal, which I of course suspect is just some joke she's playing on me. But no, it turns out that this portal really does transport me to this Demon Domain, which is full of all these wicked monsters! And right when I'm brought to Murdred, you guys show up and try to stop us. Of course, you guys are so pathetic, that you have no choice but to retreat. So, with you guys gone, Murdred tries to make me reach an agreement with him. But he's so stubborn! He wants me to become his disciple, just so that he can have access to another negafae angel. And I'm like... no! This is supposed to be my negafae!"

Kendra and Seth both glanced at each other. Why couldn't Nemenemi just shut up? Her incessant talking had to be a trait she had developed back when she was Naomi.

"So Murdred gets so fed up with me, he has Helwic banish me to some strange part of the Demon Domain. Fortunately, I attracted the attention of this manticore here. And with her help, I intend to find my way back to Murdred's castle, so that I can deal with that goddamn blowhard!"

"So why fight us?" asked Seth.

"What do you think I am?" asked Nemenemi. "Stupid? I know that you people and Murdred are enemies. Already I don't like you. And if Murdred is taken out of the picture, then I'll be free to assume his position. In which case you'll just be coming after me instead!"

Nemenemi then clenched her hands together, and started to emit a dark glow within her fists. "I should destroy you right here, right now!"

"Don't!" exclaimed Bright, waving the flag that she was holding. "This is a ceasefire!"

"I don't care for any stupid rules! I'll blast every last one of you if I have to!"

"We had a deal!" exclaimed Clover.

"You can take your deal and shove it up your ass!" snapped Nemenemi.

"Cool it," said Bracken. "Forget about us for a second. How do you intend on even defeating Murdred?"

"I'll find a way. Because of that elixir I drank, Murdred believes that my power is accelerating at a phenomenal rate. And if I was able to endure all the attacks you've thrown at me so far, I think I can handle Murdred. He doesn't seem so tough. If defeating him will grant me dominion over the Demon Domain, I'll go right ahead. And you fairy freaks aren't going to stop me!"

"We don't want to fight you," said Warren.

"As fairies," said Bright, "we prefer non-violent ways of settling our differences."

"You fairies sounds like a bunch of wimps."

"Enemies or not, it's foolish for us to be fighting," said Raxtus. "If we fight each other, we'll only wear ourselves down, and we'll have a harder time dealing with Murdred. Like it or not, Nemenemi, you have no method of healing yourself now, do you?"

Nemenemi grumbled to herself. "I suppose you've got a point. Very well. I've just thought of a compromise."

"What's that?" asked Seth.

"I don't like you, and you don't like me. But neither of us actually know where Murdred's castle even is. So I say we just go our separate ways and forget we ever saw each other."

"What about Murdred?" asked Kendra.

"Whoever finds Murdred first gets to fight him. I don't care if it's you guys who find him, since I'll no doubt run into him later on at some point. And I'm pretty confident that I'll be even more powerful then, and will be able to just destroy you even more easily than I could right now. So go ahead. Find Murdred. Destroy him! It'll only make things easier for me in the long run!"

The manticore proceeded to flap its wings, then took to the air and flew off into the thunderstorm.

"Whoa," said Ingrid, "did you see her? She barely even looked like a human."

"How could I not see her?" asked Seth.

"At least she didn't actually hurt us," said Geminus. "I was sensing a serious threat coming from Nemenemi."

"At least she's gone for now," said Warren. "Let's just focus on finding Murdred and defeating him. Nemenemi may be powerful, but she lacks experience. We can worry about her later."

Bracken, Bright and Clover all disappeared. Following that, the dragons all stretched out their wings and proceeded to fly up against the rain, soaring in the opposite direction that Nemenemi had gone in.